Fantasy and reality came together Wednesday at the Western Pocono Community Library in Brodheadsville.

As part of the library’s summer reading program, a celebration of Harry Potter’s birthday that included activities for the most serious Hogwarts enthusiast. There was even a Quidditch game for children to participate in.

“We had some input from our board of trustees,” event coordinator Patti Weiss said. “Harry Potter’s birthday happens to be today (July 31), so we thought it would be a great opportunity to support and get the kids out there reading.

“When the guest comes in, they get sorted into their appropriate Hogwarts house. Then they make a tie out of felt for their house, and then we have magic wands. We’re making birthday cards that we are sending to J.K. Rowling.”

They also had Harry Potter trivia, a jigsaw puzzle they will frame upon completion, and an outside Quidditch game.

The library’s summer reading program runs for nine weeks. The goal of the program is to ensure children continue reading during the summer when school is out, which helps maintain their reading level.

The library wants to be more than just a building with books: It wants to be part of the community.

Karin-Susan Breitlauch, board of trustees president, explained how libraries at their core are communal institutions of learning.

“We find that our greatest challenge is to make our library more of a community-based center. We’d like to do more events like this,” she said. “We hope this brings people to the library.”